JK Rowlings‘ fans are continuing to be thrilled as ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them‘ gets closer to release as she has been releasing more stories on Pottermore set in the world that gave us Harry Potter. The short stories detail the history of magic in North America giving us a background of the Wizarding World that Newt Scamander will be finding himself in when the film is released later this year.
The first two chapters that were released earlier in the week dealt with the history of magic during the 14th-17th century with the next chapter covering the 17th century and beyond. Now in the third installment called ‘Rappaport’s Law’ we’re told about the segregation of the communities in America for those with and without magic and in the fourth and final tale titled ‘1920s Wizarding America’ we’re given a look at how magic in the roaring 20’s was like.
Below we’ve got a few more details on each of these to share with you!
In ‘Rappaport’s Law’ we follow as MACUSA or the Magical Congress of the United States of America had to put laws in place that would keep magic users and the non-magic communities of America separate from one another. In the tale, young witch Dorcus Twelvetrees falls in love with a man who passionately hates magic. Inadvertently she lets him know about how magic users have hidden themselves away from society. He uses the information to help persecute those he believes were witches or wizards which causes the divide between the two societies to grow significantly wider. This separation of magic and non-magic explains why so little is known about American magic.
The last and final piece, ‘1920s Wizarding America’, is probably my favorite. In it, we lead directly into the time period where the upcoming movie which follows the unlikely adventures of Newt Scamander take place. We get an introduction to the US Wandmakers. Also, we’re shown that Rappaport’s Law which is mentioned above is still very much in place and might be laying the groundwork as to why Newt and the American wizards don’t get along that well. The truly fun part, though, is we learn that while prohibition is in full effect that the rule doesn’t at all apply to magic users as “The Gigglewater is non-negotiable.”
On the flip side, I am now extremely curious as to what a magical speakeasy would have looked like.
You can read all 4 of the new short stories on Pottermore to help prepare you for the release of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’!
Are you looking forward to the latest set of films? Do you think they’ll do the memory of the Harry Potter novels and movies justice? Share your thoughts below!
Sources: Time, The Hollywood Reporter
